Now that the PS4 is out, as promised, it’s time for us to take a look into the future of the PS4 with my most anticipated exclusives list. Now, Sony has assured us that they have nearly every first party studio working on PS4 games right now… but we have only heard the slightest inklings of these. That being said, we do have three exclusive titles that we know are well in development with two being definitely slated for 2014 release.

Deep Down

Capcom had a rather impressive cinematic showing at the PS4’s reveal conference with their free to play game Deep Down. They really said next to nothing about it then, but since then they’ve revealed a wide variety of tantalizing details and footage. While this game is not confirmed to launch next year, it still deserves a mention as it embodies a lot of what I think of when I think next gen.

While it does appear to be a graphical powerhouse using Capcom’s new engine, graphics are actually what I think of least when I think about the generation we’ve just reached. The graphical step up from previous generations, while noticeable, is going to be smaller and less immediately apparent than in previous generations. The things that I see being most central to this generation are business model changes and the ability to expand worlds.

Why is this relevant? Deep Down is a free to play dungeon crawler featuring completely procedurally generated levels. Free to play has only started to reach consoles in the past year or so, and is one of the aspects that we can expect to see make a huge jump with this generation with a new open stance that it seems both Sony and Microsoft are taking with regards to digital pricing. And procedurally generated levels are something typically reserved for rogue-likes, platformers, and other less graphically intensive games. But that is what makes it such a good showcase for ‘next gen’.

These types of designs, along with unique uses of the internet functionality present within these consoles, will be the true hallmarks of next gen I believe. And it makes this game so much more exciting to look forward to, it could be among the first of many attempts to innovate on the new platforms.

Infamous: Second Son

The sequel to the Infamous duality, featuring a new protagonist in a new city with new powers, is just about here. Next February we’ll be travelling to Seattle to learn more about the Conduit gene in the time after Infamous 2’s amazing ‘good’ ending.

Infamous is one of the most successful Sony exclusive franchises, and Infamous 2 made my most recent Shadow’s Six list as my fourth favourite game of this past generation. The Infamous games are the best comic-style superhero games I’ve ever played, and I am truly excited to see what Suckerpunch can do with the power of next gen hardware.

Some of the interesting things we’ve seen and heard about are a wider variety of powers, a streamlining of the control structure, and most notably an almost completely destructible environment. It’s hard to not be excited about a new Infamous game, and by moving to an alternate city with a different protagonist we can get a sense for how the world has reacted to this revelation that there are people out there who are just more than others. I’m truly looking forward to it.

The Order: 1886

The highlight of the PS4’s reveal was a trailer for The Order. Showing an alternate history of London in the 19th century featuring half-breeds, a species of humans showing bestial traits, it created a fascinating display and most importantly: a new IP with the potential to become a series.

The history presented in The Order showcases a world where a losing battle has been fought for ages against these beastmen due to their unnatural prowess. Between Black Water, a mystical substance that allows humanity’s elite to heal quickly and live longer, and the Industrial Revolution which gave them the tools to make up for their physical deficiency humanity has finally turned things around. And at this moment, naturally, humanity turns upon itself courtesy of an revolutionary war as the lower classes turn on the nobility.

It is into this reality that you, one of these elites, enter the world. We haven’t seen much about the game itself beyond story and some imagery, but the graphics, the story, and the setting are truly exciting. This is the type of new IP I’ve been excited for with a new generation, the type of experimentation people are sometimes afraid to do during the late years of a generation, and I can’t wait to see how it pans out.

There aren’t a lot of exclusives announced yet, although we can certainly expect them to be coming. Thus far, these three are my most anticipated PS4 exclusives for 2014. I’ll have another Most Anticipated of 2014 list next week, but I won’t spoil the surprise of what it’s about this time! Just as an aside, there won’t be an Xbox One list simply because Microsoft hasn’t announced any exclusives for next year that interest me. I’m sure they’ll be coming, but they’re not ready to talk about them yet, so I can’t either!